Pellissier Building vs Richfield Tower

Comparing the Pellissier Building and the Richfield Tower is especially interesting because they share much in common. Both rise in Los Angeles, CA both were designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements, and they were completed within 2 years of each other.

This overlap gives us a unique opportunity to understand how Morgan, Walls & Clements approached different commissions in the same urban context and historical context during a short period.

Both the Pellissier Building and the Richfield Tower were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Morgan, Walls & Clements and Morgan, Walls and Clements followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Both the Pellissier Building and the Richfield Tower were designed to serve as commercial towers, and that has remained their main use since their completion, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.